Advertiser Mars has consolidated its agencies by eliminating
two of the four that were responsible for the company's worldwide accounts for
its candy, snack and pet food brands, Media
Decoder reported.
The changes will take place in September; the two agencies
departing are TBWA Worldwide, part of the Omnicom Group, and SapientNitro, part
of the Sapient Corporation. SapientNitro will continue to work with Mars'
digital strategy and corporate Web site. The agencies left behind, BBDO Worldwide
and DDB Worldwide, both of the Omnicom Group, will inherit the accounts.
BBDO Worldwide, which
is already responsible for global campaigns for Mars' Cesar, Extra, M&M's,
Orbit, Sheba, Snickers and Uncle Ben's brands, will now handle Dove (also known
as Galaxy), Pedigree, Twix and Whiskas. SapientNitro previously held the Dove
assignment, while TBWA had the rest. With these new additions, BBDO will now
handle 13 of Mars' 16 global brands.
DDB will take over the global accounts for Skittles and
Starburst, which had been handled by TBWA, regional candy brands Combos and
Milk Way and pet food brands Frolic and Schmackos.
"We are grateful for the contributions that SapientNitro
and TBWA have made to the growth of our brands over the years," Bruce McColl,
global chief marketing officer at Mars in McLean, Va., said in a statement.
The Snickers campaign, featuring the tagline "You're not
you when you're hungry" has been globally recognized. The ads have featured
stars including Betty White, Abe Vigoda, Aretha Franklin, Liza Minelli,
Roseanne Barr and Richard Lewis.
